The Witch of the Western Gate: Dragon's Gift

Witch of the Western Gate: Dragon's Gift

Copyright © 2011 by P.K. Brent

This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters,
places, and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used
fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons,
living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced,
scanned, or distributed in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the
author except in the case of brief quotation embodied in critical articles and reviews.
Published by Redleaf Cottage Publishing, redleafcottage.com

By: P. K. Brent, pkbrent.com

For Richard,

May you always find dragons.

A special thank you to Sabrina Caine,

for designing the cover.

Chapter 1

"Holy smokes, it's a dragon!" Indeed a small turquoise dragon the size of a beagle, gazed at up at Blue, with large golden eyes. The dragon tried scuttling up the basement stairs, hissing and flapping frantically, but Blue blocked its way and shooed it back with a broom. Then the dragon dodged behind an old wooden crate. In the dim light of the cistern room, under her grandparent's farmhouse, Blue found it difficult to see. She poked at the dragon with the broom until it backed hissing into the crate, dragging its left wing. Blue grabbed a roll of duct tape off the nearby workbench and secured a few boards in place on the crate, trapping the dragon inside.

When Blue first heard a noise in the cistern room she had thought it was caused by raccoons, then maybe by a hissing goose. To find a dragon was certainly surprising. She could tell from its webbed feet and the steam coming from its nose, that it was a water dragon, so it could attack with either frost, steam or boiling water, but it had not.

"Be quiet," Blue said to the dragon. One of Blue's powers was the rare ability to communicate with animals, though she could only do it when she was calm. She closed her eyes and touched the dragon's mind, so that he knew her intention was only to heal then release him again. The dragon stared at Blue knowingly and calmed down. Carefully Blue carried the crate up the stairs then across the icy driveway to Grandpa Lou's SUV and stowed it in the back, and covered it with a blanket. It was dusk now, even though it was only 5:00 p.m. on a Friday in February. "We're leaving soon, little dragon. I'll attend to your wing as soon as I can. So be quiet. I don't want Ivy to see you."

Since Ivy had no paranormal talents, and disliked anything "weird," she didn't know that her female relatives in Lockport were witches. As if that was not bad enough, Blue's father was a sorcerer, and Grandpa Lou a werewolf. Blue closed the door to the rusted old Ford escape and rubbed a spot of dirt off the logo on the door -- "Buggyman Pest Exterminator." Blue loved her job, working part-time for Grandpa Lou, exterminating pests, especially since not all the pests were insects and critters. Some were of the paranormal type. Blue finished a few chores and then reentered her grandparent's house.

"I have something for you girls," said Grandma Lily, to Blue and her cousin Ivy. Ivy had been texting, complaining to her downstate New York friends, the entire time Blue had been working.

“These are really cute,” said Blue, as she and Ivy examined the outfits Grandma Lily had made for them.

"I made something else too, matching bags. I'll go get them.

“You must be insane to say these are cute, as if I would actually wear this!” hissed Ivy to Blue.

“Keep your voice down,” Blue hissed back. "She's coming right back, and she put a lot of effort into making these. I think they’re nice.”

“You would,” Ivy retorted.

Grandma Violet had made for them both patchwork jumpers. They had intricate hand worked smocking down the front and a ruffle across the bottom. Blue’s was blue, peach, and green. Ivy’s was lavender, yellow, and pink.

“How do your jumpers fit?” Grandma Violet called from the next room, rustling in to check.

“Perfectly Grandma,” Blue replied, glaring at Ivy.

Ivy pulled hers over her head. “Mine fits great too Grandma,” she replied, not to be outdone by Blue. “This will be terrific for my first day at my new school on Monday.” Ivy turned an angelic expression to Grandma Violet. Blue's eyes opened wide in amazement at Ivy’s skill in lying. The fact that Ivy was also tall, slim, gorgeous, blond, and athletic was just so irritating. Blue felt even more awkward about her curves. Little did Blue know that Ivy was equally annoyed about being flat chested and Ivy, with her wavy blond hair, envied Blue's poker straight copper-colored hair.

“There are matching bags too girls. I made a bag for Stella also. Blue, you can take it to her." The bags were ample round patchwork bags lined in matching denim, that closed on a drawstring. Ivy’s had a light blue denim lining, Blue’s lined in lavender and Stella's in burgundy.

“I actually kind of like the bag,” Ivy mused, after Grandma Violet left the room. This will give a funky, bohemian edge to my black jeans outfit.” Blue was relieved that Ivy liked something. She also was sure that Ivy was never going to wear Grandma Lily’s home sewn outfit -- ever.

There was not much Ivy liked since moving from Manhattan to Lockport in rural upstate western New York. Ivy and her father, Basil Stone, and her stepmother Elizabeth, had just relocated. Ivy would start at Lockport High School on Monday. Blue felt sorry for Ivy having to change high schools in the middle of sophomore year. She also was puzzled about why Uncle Basil was moving his family in such a hurry. Uncle Basil was giving up his partnership in a prestigious New York City law firm, where he was partner, to practice small town law in rural Lockport. It made no sense.

“Who is that?” asked Ivy, pointing out the window. Blue looked to see two trotting horses pulling a sleigh over the snow along the edge of Grandma Lily’s backyard where the yard ended and fields began. The February snow drifted heavily where the cold winds had haphazardly left it. A young man with honey blond hair was riding bareback on one of the horses. Stella sat in front of him, laughing, fingers curled deep into the horse's mane. Two dark-haired young men were in the sleigh. Despite the cold, none of the boys wore winter coats or hats, just light hoodies, as though they didn't feel the cold at all. Even from a distance, it was clear that they were all exceptionally handsome.

"You know who that is, Ivy, Grandma's neighbors, the Mantooth boys. Stella's with them too. They picked her up after school today so she could practice a dance routine with Rafe. It's for our upcoming All-County choral recital and play. We're doing the play 'Into the Woods' too."

“That is THE Rafe you're always palling around with?” asked Lily in an amazed tone. “Belladonna Louisa, you have been holding out on me! No wonder you spend so much time at Grandma Lily’s.” Blue flushed. She greatly disliked her given name, which thankfully had evolved over time from Belladonna Louisa to Bella-Lou to just plain Blue. That’s what she went by now – Blue McChesney. Whenever a teacher called out her entire name, it was an occasion for embarrassment. All of Blue's family members were named after plants and some of the names were unusual or exotic. Belladonna was a particularly odd name because it referred to a poisonous plant in the nightshade family, as if there were not already enough rumours about Blue and her family.

“Yes, that is THE Rafe,” replied Blue, in a slightly mocking tone. “Why are you so surprised?”

“Well, because he’s gorgeous,” replied Lily, making no effort to hide what she was thinking which went something along the lines of how could such a handsome young man spend so much time with Blue.

"You've seen him before, while visiting here, over the years," replied Blue.

“No, not recently and rarely up close, or maybe I never noticed him before," replied Ivy. "He seems different now, maybe because he's older. So, are you two an item, or is he with Stella?” asked Ivy.

“No, it’s not like that,” replied Blue. She had been trying hard not to think about her relationship with Rafe. She and Rafe had been close friends as long as she could remember. There were photos of them as babies and toddlers together. Recently there was tension between them and Blue knew it was all her fault. But to call attention to this new energy she felt whenever they were together was a risk that Blue did not want to take. It could cost her Rafe's friendship. Rafe and his family were werewolves, so it was nice to spend time with someone who understood what it was like to have paranormal abilities, and who knew what it was like to hide these abilities from mainstream people.

“The other two are gorgeous too! Now, I want the entire scoop on all three of them,” demanded Lily. “Names, ages, occupations, hobbies, likes, dislikes, love life – everything.”

"What for?" asked Blue. "You've never liked anyone you met around here before anyway."

"Considering how hot they are, I could make an exception for one of them," replied Ivy. Blue rolled her eyes. A few years ago, Ivy couldn't stand the Mantooth boys and here she was now calling them "hot" and "gorgeous."

“How can you say that when you don't even know what they are like or which one best suits your personality?" asked Blue.

"The details are unimportant. The important thing is being seen with someone gorgeous." replied Ivy. Blue rolled her eyes.

"Besides, doesn't it bother you that today is Valentine's Day and neither of us has a boyfriend to send us cards and candy? I haven't had such a bad Valentine's Day since fifth grade."

Blue ignored Ivy's last comment. Secretly she was sad that it was Valentine's Day and Rafe hadn't sent her so much as a joking card. He had pelted her with a heart-shaped snowball earlier, but that didn't count, or did it?

"Well, the oldest one is Brando. He was holding the horse's reins. He graduated from high school last year and just started college. He's studying Criminal Justice and works part-time as an intern for the Sheriff's department. Then there is Rafe, who was sitting in the sleigh. He is our age and in our grade. He’s my best friend, along with Stella."

"Yes, I recognize Rafe," replied Ivy. "I've never seen Brando around before though, probably because he's older than us. Who is the new one?"

"Their cousin Talon was riding on the appaloosa horse with Stella. He's from Canada and he came to live with them in December. His primary language is Quebecois."

"What is Quebecois," asked Ivy. "I never heard of it."

"It's French, the type they speak in Quebec. Not the same as Parisian French but similar. Talon moved her to spend time with his cousins and to improve his English. He also speaks a little Mohawk, since his father is part St. Regis Valley Mohawk. Many people around here have some Indian blood. Anyone who's lived along the border for three or four generations usually does. In fact, we both probably do from Grandpa Lou."

"Brando and Rafe have dark hair. Talon's is lighter, almost a dark honey blonde," commented Ivy.

"Yes," replied Blue, "and their eyes are different. Brando and Rafe have grey eyes and Talon's are dark brown. Why all the interest?” asked Blue. “You've always ignored them before.”

“I will make a point of knowing them all now,” replied Ivy. “Starting Monday, my first day of school here, I'll check them out." Blue laughed, “Sorry to disappoint you, but they are in the Starpoint school district, out in the farmlands. We go to Lockport High in the city of Lockport."

"Lockport's a city?" Ivy snorted in disgust.

Blue ignored Ivy's last remark.

"Lockport high school is close by our houses. It's so convenient; we can walk back and forth. We can stay late whenever we want, no problem. I just tell Aunt Violet if my Dad's out of town working. I walk past her Grey Owl Shoppe every afternoon, so often I visit her on my walk home from school.” Aunt Violet was the eldest daughter of Grandma Lily and Grandpa Lou. She worked mornings and sometimes overnight as a visiting nurse and owned the "Grey Owl Shoppe" a tea and cookies, herbs, gifts, and charms shop located in a small building she owned on Main Street in Lockport. She lived upstairs in an apartment above her store.

"I bet you also like to stop in and eat some of Aunt Violet's great cookies too. I can see you plowing through those!" Ivy laughed.

Blue sucked in her stomach in annoyance, at the reference to her weight, which she had started to watch.

"I'm not so fat as you make out Ivy. Actually, I'm just a tiny bit chubby. I am starting to watch my weight carefully too."

"I suppose," yawned Ivy.

"Anyway, about the Grew Owl Shoppe. I stop by there a lot to help Aunt Violet with odd jobs."

Ivy spent half of every summer in Lockport plus made holiday visits with her parents, but barely socialized with Blue, let alone any of Blue’s friends, and never offered to help her grandparents or Aunt Violet. It was clear that Ivy considered herself to be far above her rural relatives.